Australian boxing great Johnny Lewis has agreed to join Curtis Scott’s surprise bid to become an Australian cruiserweight champion – which kicks off against the fellow leaguie whose career he describes as “an embarrassment”.
Only months after being denied a return to the NRL, 26-year-old Scott is set to make his heavyweight debut against Joey Leilua in No Limit’s 2024 Pay-Per-View opener on Wednesday night in Wollongong.
As part of the build up, both men were this week involved in a fiery Main Event ‘Face Off’ interview, which saw Scott accuse his rival of quitting in games, “hiding on the wing”, and “being an embarrassment” during his two years at Wests Tigers.
BOXING: Joshua v Ngannou | SAT 9 MAR | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
“Every time I marked you,” Scott added, staring his rival down from across a table, “you s… yourself”.
Leilua, meanwhile, insisted he didn’t even remember marking up against the younger centre – “I remember Cameron Smith, not Curtis Scott” – who late in the interview also accused him of “thinking he’s an Immortal”.
A 2017 premiership winner with Storm, Scott also doubled down by suggesting, during Leilua’s time at Raiders, when players were put through hard training sessions, he was famed for not only quitting, or walking from the field, but disappearing from raiders HQ altogether.
“You’d get in your car, have a hissy fit and drive home,” Scott cackled.
During another exchange, the boxing debutant described his rival as “a f…ing idiot” who, until now, had only accepted fights against people he already knew he would beat.
Certainly Scott will not have it all his own way on Wednesday night, either — conceding anywhere up to 30kg by the time the pair throw down.
The former Stormer will, however, have no shortage of experience in a corner set to include both head coach Brian Doyle and Lewis – that peerless Hall of Famer who mentored the likes of Kostya Tszyu, Jeff Fenech and Jeff Harding.
Doyle, too, doubles as the striking coach for UFC middleweight star Robert Whittaker.
He is also helping Aussie prospect Brock Jarvis with his own return to the ring.
Asked about having Lewis in his corner for the fight, the former leaguie explained to Fox Sports Australia that it came about after the legendary coach was invited to watch one of his early sparring sessions by Doyle, who is himself a longtime friend of the great.
“Johhny came, watched me spar and said he was keen to jump on board,” Scott explained. “Said he was happy to help out where he could.
“And he’s been doing that right throughout camp.
“Johnny is obviously a wonderful person to have in my corner. A great role model.”
While Scott isn’t expected to weigh more than 94 kilos on fight night, Leilua is tipped to hit the scales himself at around 120kg.
As a result, the former NSW Origin hopeful revealed that, with a win next Wednesday night, he then wants to campaign at cruiserweight moving forward, with Doyle convinced he could win the Australia title this year.
Currently, the cruiserweight crown is held by undefeated Brisbane southpaw Luke Modini (11-0).
Elsewhere, both former footballers were also happy to throw down verbally in this week’s ‘Face Off’ program fronted by Main Event host Niko Pajarillo.
When Scott accused Leilua of regularly quitting when training sessions got to tough, and even leaving Raiders HQ altogether, his rival replied: “Who told you this?”
“You had 40 blokes around you,” Scott laughed, “and went home.”
Leilua: “Now you’re lying. I choose my destiny.”
Scott: “If something was too hard, you’d quit and leave.”
Leilua: “So I’m going to quit, am I?”
Scott: “We’ll see. You have it in you, though.
“You have it in you.
“You’d quit even when you had 40 blokes pushing you.
“Against Cronulla too, you walked off the field having a hissy fight because you weren’t getting the ball.”
Leilua: “Cronulla?”
Scott: “Shark Park, you walked off the field. Another hissy fit.”
Leilua: “I never quit. If I’m not getting the ball … if I get the ball we’re winning. If you get the ball nothing happens.”
Scott: “You sound stupid … you played in one grand final over how many years? Canberra wasn’t up. You were in the bottom eight every year just about.”
Later, the former Stormer continued: “He’s big but has a bully mentality.
“When things don’t go his way he gets the s…s.
“Look at the size of him. He should’ve been playing in the front row but was hiding out on the wing and in the centres.
Challenger’s wild 3-minute rant on Champ | 02:45
“He’s been over 100 kilos his whole career and started it sat out on the wing.
“He had all the ability in the world and hid …”
Speaking separately with Fox Sports Australia, Curtis confirmed he would almost certainly campaign at cruiserweight moving forward.
“Cruiserweight is definitely the more realistic,” he said when asked about fighting at the 91kg limit.
“I’ve taken this first fight with a bigger body because it’s the start of my career and I really didn’t want to knock an opportunity like this one back.”
And as for winning an Australian title before the year is out?
“Well, I’m not dipping a toe into boxing,” he said. “I’m devoting myself to this and I’m going to set high goals, take hard fights.
“Most blokes on debut aren’t fighting somebody well over 20 kilos heavier than them. That’s not how it works.
“But I’ve taken this fight because of the confidence I have in myself.”
Scott added that he expects Leilua to weigh around 120kg given “he was slightly heavier for his last fight”.
“I know he’s got heavy hands, too,” he continued.
“And an agile guy.
“Deceivingly quick, light on his feet.”
A former NSW Origin hopeful, Scott was exiled from the game following a string of off-field incidents.
In 2022, the footballer was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order after being found guilty of three charges against his ex-girlfriend — assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and stalk or intimidate with the intention of causing fear or physical harm.
A year earlier, Scott had also been sacked by the Canberra Raiders following a nightclub incident for which he was later cleared in court.
Back in December, the controversial 26-year-old was denied an NRL return following his string of off-field issues and court battles, and was subsequently talked up for a switch to the English Super League.
However, the former NRL bad boy has now turned his attention to boxing and is so serious about a professional career he is training alongside 26-year-old Jarvis (21-1).
Discussion about this post